Asia/Pacific
Koreas open hotline between leaders ahead of summit
North and South Korea installed a telephone hotline between their leaders Friday as they prepare for a rare summit next week aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff with…
Armenian protesters keep up pressure on new PM
Thousands of people rallied in Armenia's capital on Wednesday to protest the election of former president Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister, viewed by the opposition as a power…
China's Weibo backtracks on 'gay ban' after outcry
China's Sina Weibo on Monday reversed a decision to remove gay content after outcry among gay Chinese who say the company had smeared homosexuality by lumping it with pornography…
Eight go on trial in India for rape, murder of Kashmir girl
Eight suspects went on trial in Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday over the gang rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl, a day after thousands protested across the country to…
First Rohingya family 'repatriated to Myanmar'
Myanmar's government said it repatriated on Saturday the first family of Rohingya out of some 700,000 refugees who fled to Bangladesh to escape a brutal military campaign,…
Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif barred from elected office for life
Pakistan's Supreme Court has barred former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from running in elections for life, ruling on a petition asking the tribunal whether the disqualified…
Focus
Video: 'Modicare' aims to provide healthcare to half a billion Indians
India is soon to implement what could be the world's largest public healthcare programme. Dubbed "Modicare", the ambitious scheme is designed as a safety net for millions of…
Xi vows ‘new phase of opening up’ China economy
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to lower car tariffs this year and take other steps to further open the world's number two economy, indirectly addressing major…
Japan activates first marines since WWII
Japan’s military on Saturday launched its first Marines unit, tasked with defending remote islands in the face of China’s growing maritime presence in the region.
Bollywood star Salman Khan bailed in poaching case
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan left prison on Saturday after being granted bail so he can contest a five-year jail sentence imposed for killing rare antelopes two decades ago.
South Korea's Park sentenced to 24 years in prison
South Korea''s Park sentenced to 24 years in prison
Former S. Korean president Park gets 24-year prison term
South Korea’s disgraced former president Park Geun-hye was jailed for 24 years Friday for corruption, closing out a dramatic fall from grace for the country’s first woman leader…
Bollywood star convicted in decades-old poaching case
Bollywood star Salman Khan was convicted Thursday of poaching rare deer in a wildlife preserve two decades ago and sentenced to five years in prison, with the trial judge…
Focus
Could China and the Vatican soon be reconciled?
China has some 12 million Catholics. Those who turn their backs on the state-run church body and swear allegiance to the Pope in Rome are forced to practice their faith in…
